Halo: Shadow War
by CaptainSummers15
Summary: A team of Hand selected Spartan-II's and III's carry out the most top secret shadow operations ONI has to offer. Answering only to Admiral Parangosky herself. Follow the team as they dispatch hidden Covenant camps and even stop full scale invasions.
1. Chapter 1

**Human Colony of Victoria**

**111 Tauri System**

**November 18th 2545 (0638 Military Standard Time)**

"This is Spartan Drake-114, Team Leader, everyone check in." Drake called over his team's COM channel.

"Spartan Brooke-115 in position." The team's reconnaissance specialist and second in command checked in.

"Spartan Ty-B147 in position." The team's demolitions expert radioed.

"Spartan David-A229 in position." The team's sniper checked in quietly.

"Spartan Hunter-A184 in position." The team's technician checked in last.

"All Spartans present and accounted for," Drake stated flatly. "We are prepared to execute mission. Flash me your indicator light for acknowledgment." All of the lights in Drake's heads up display flashed simultaneously. "Acknowledged, move out on my mark. Three...two...one...mark." On mark Drake rushed from his cover in the trees to a Covenant barricade that was on the edge of the enemy camp. He looked to his left and right and saw the other Spartans doing the same. All except for David-A229.

"David, give me a sitrep. How's it looking?" Drake asked as he peaked around his barricade.

"This is the busiest Covenant camp I've ever seen. We have eighteen squads of Grunts roaming the interior perimeter. We have ten Jackal snipers set up in sniper nests around the camp. Finally we have a force of about fifty Elites throughout the entire camp. Then of course we have our main objective in the dead center. One Mark 47 Prototype Anti-Orbit Plasma Cannon." the Sniper gave a rundown of the alien infested camp.

"Brooke, what can you tell us from your run around?" Drake asked the recon expert.

"Well for one, they have Spec Ops Elites patrolling the woods around us. Then in a clearing about a kilometer from here, they have eighteen fully armed dropships ready to provide air support. And finally they have a CCS-Class Battlecruiser parked about two kilos away."

"Thank you for the good news, as always." Drake replied sarcastically.

"A pleasure sir," Brooke replied in a similarly sarcastic tone.

"David, make sure you keep an ear open and an eye on your motion sensor. Don't want one of those Elites to get the drop on you." Drake cautioned the sniper, who silently replied with an acknowledgment light. "Alright Ty, I want you on those dropships. As soon as we go loud I want those crafts to go boom, understand?" Drake asked the demolitions master.

"Consider it done, sir." Ty replied with barely contained excitement.

"Perfect. Alright Spartans, prepare to execute attack. David, work on taking out those snipers quiet as you can. After they're dispatched, just keep me covered. The rest of you Spartan-III's, take full advantage of your top of the line cloaking systems, courtesy of the Office of Naval Intelligence. Just bear in mind your SPI armor isn't as good as mine and Brooke's MJOLNIR armor. It can't take more than a couple hits of plasma. So stay hidden and stay nimble. Good luck Spartans, see you on the inside." Drake shut off the COM and prepared himself to rush forward. He steadied his breathing and pulled the charging handle on his MA5C Assault Rifle. The smooth slide and click of the bolt was comforting to the Spartan's ears. One last breath and Drake hopped over the barricade and quickly moved to the next point of cover. He swept back and forth with his rifle as he moved. The whisper quiet snaps of David's Sniper Rifle could just barely be heard. With each crack, a Jackal fell dead in its sniper nest.

He narrowly avoided detection by a squad of Grunts as he moved. Drake sat in cover for a minute until a green indicator light blinked in his Heads Up Display. It was from Ty, he had the charges set and ready to blow. That meant the team could go loud at any point. Drake trained his rifle on the group of Grunts and was about to fire when he heard the gravel move behind him. Drake whipped around to be met by the ugly mug of an Elite. The Elite produced a deep throaty roar, fully extending its four mandibles.

"You wanna dance Hinge-head? Lets dance." Drake smirked. He held down the trigger to his rifle, quickly unloading his magazine into the Split-lip's stomach. Its energy shield was absorbing the rounds but it still made the Elite stumble backwards. Once its shield broke though, the rounds tore into his midsection. Finally the alien fell to the ground with its torso eviscerated by lead. Drake dropped the empty magazine and slammed a fresh one in the rifle. Just when he thought he was somewhat safe, another Elite appeared behind him. However this one was not hesitant. As soon as Drake faced it, the Elite activated its Energy Sword. The fork-like plasma blade hissed as the plasma heated the air around it. Drake started to fire but the Elite swatted the rifle out of his hands. The Hinge-head picked him up by his throat and was about to run him through with his blade. But then a hushed crack intervened, as the Elite's head exploded in purple gore. The body collapsed on top of Drake, covering him with the alien's blood.

"Thanks David," Drake grunted trying to push the dead alien off him.

"Anytime sir," he replied with smug confidence. Drake hefted the dead weight off of him and climbed to his feet. As he got up he grabbed his Assault Rifle and checked it over. The ammo counter read thirty-two, a full rifle was a good rifle. Miraculously the fighting had not drawn attention to the invading Spartans. Drake kept moving through the camp, dispatching groups of Grunts and the occasional lone Elite. Still managing to remain quiet somehow. As Drake got closer to the cannon he understood why. The rumbling thunder of the cannon's reactor made it difficult to hear much. After about a half an hour into the mission, Drake made it to the entrance of the cannon's control room. Where a special guest was waiting for him in the doorway. An absolutely gargantuan Elite, even for his species, clad in brilliant golden armor. It wielded an Energy Sword and a Plasma Pistol, which was trained on Drake.

"You are a difficult Demon to keep track of." The Elite said with a growl.

"I would disagree, you can always find me around a pile of dead split-lips." Drake prodded. The Elite did not seem to be phased whatsoever.

"You talk big, worm, but I have the advantage. My superior weaponry will kill you before you can get too close." The large Elite stated slightly puffing out his chest in confidence.

"True, I am too far to rush you and live. Your shields are also too strong for my rifle to kill you quick enough. But you have no such advantage over her," Drake pointed up.

"What!?" The Elite exclaimed in surprise, looking up. From above, like an artillery strike, Brooke-115 came down on top of the Elite. She drove her knife into its skull as she brought her bulk down on top of the hinge-head. If the knife did not kill it, the crushing weight of a Spartan in full MJOLNIR armor did.

"Nice work," Drake gave a thumbs up.

"All in a days work, sir." Brooke retorted, removing her knife from the skull of the dead Elite.

"Still more to do," Drake said nodding towards the cannon control room. As he said that two Spartan-III's in SPI armor materialized as if from nowhere.

"Ty, Hunter," Drake nodded to them. "Any news to bring?"

"I pulled the pin on the dropships, they won't be a problem anymore." Ty said with a thumbs up.

"I have news that is not so pleasing," Hunter hung his head. "David was...he was compromised. An Elite patrolling the trees around the camp discovered him, and killed him."

"I see," Drake said with a lump in his throat. He marked David as Missing in Action, as per protocol, on his team roster. It saddened him greatly, but he knew they had to keep moving on.

"However the silver lining, if you want to see it, his armor's reactor detonated. Took the son of a bitch hinge-head with it." Hunter said with mellowed anger and sadness.

"Good," Drake nodded. "I know it's difficult to lose a team member, but we have to press on. Or else his death will be in vain." They all nodded in agreement. "Alright Hunter, here's your chance to pay David back. Get in this control room and see what you can do about this cannon." Drake ordered.

"Yes sir," Hunter nodded. He ran into the control room and quickly went to work. Brooke approached Drake and put her hand on his shoulder.

"It wasn't your fault," she consoled him. "Besides, you know what they say. Spartans never die, they just go missing in action."

"I know, it's still hard. I remember when I first brought him aboard. Crazy bastard was ready to go take on the whole Covenant. He was a good kid," Drake admitted. In that moment he remembered, that David really was just a kid. The Spartan-III's were augmented at twelve, and that was no more than nine years prior for David.

"Spartans! Look alive! We've got company!" Brooke called out, rifle at the ready. Drake raised his rifle to see Covenant troops surrounding them. Except for a few Jackals taking pot shots, they did not fire.

"Why are they holding their fire?" Drake asked, keeping his rifle trained on the Covenant in front of him.

"No clue," Brooke admitted. Then came their answer. The Covenant CCS-Class Battlecruiser took it's place over their heads.

"They mean to glass us and this camp. They don't want the cannon falling into our hands." Drake stated.

"Sir!" Hunter called. "The Battlecruiser is directly over the cannon. Permission to fire?" Hunter asked in disbelief. Drake raised an unseen eyebrow, sharing in Hunter's disbelief.

"There is no way the Covenant are this dumb," Drake whispered. "Permission granted!" He yelled. "Light 'em up!" After he gave the command, Hunter keyed the firing panel. After a few seconds, the cannon began to spin up and fire a giant bolt of plasma upward. The bolt hit the Cruiser's shields and splashed around. The plasma bolt still caused the shields to fail and disappear from around the ship.

"Again!" Brooke ordered. Hunter gave a thumbs up and pressed the panel again. The cannon fired again and this time the bolt struck the ship. It melted through until it hit the reactor, causing a great explosion just above. Chunks of alien metal and flaming debris rained to the surface. The Covenant that were surrounding them began to scatter in all directions to avoid the debris.

"Hunter, blow the reactor." Drake ordered firmly, while dodging flaming metal.

"But sir, this reactor will cause an explosion that will destroy the surface for Kilometers. Half the planet maybe." Hunter warned.

"We have a clear objective, Hunter. ONI wants this cannon gone and that's what we'll do." Drake replied in a commanding voice.

"Yes sir, proceeding sir." Hunter said with some reluctance. The same reluctance that made him hesitate hitting the kill switch. "Wait, how are we getting out?"

"Good question," Drake pondered. As he thought, a transmission came over their COMs.

"Shadow Team, this is Shadow Actual. I repeat this is Shadow Actual, are you prepared for evac?"

"Roger that Shadow Actual. We are ready to blow the reactor as soon as we have a ride home." Drake replied.

"Negative Shadow Team, we cannot send an evac craft until the reactors are set to detonate. ONI orders." Shadow Actual replied.

"Then you better be damn quick getting us out." Drake pointed to Hunter and gave him the thumbs up. He pressed the detonate button and a countdown began. "Reactors set to blow, you have sixty seconds starting five seconds ago." Drake ordered and shut off the COM. "I swear if we die down here I'm gonna kill 'em." Drake said shaking his head. As the countdown was nearing completion, a jet-black Pelican swooped down and hovered over the surface. The Spartans ran towards the dropship and jumped inside the troop bay. Drake ran to the front and slammed his hand on the side of the cockpit.

"Get us out now!" He exclaimed. The pilot nodded and keyed the thrusters. The craft climbed into the air towards space as the cannon exploded in a wave of pure energy. It swept outwards from ground zero and consumed the surface quickly. Hunter watched out the rear view port as the destruction he warned of ensued. The Pelican reached the hangar of the UNSC _Hidden Enigma_ where it docked in safety. The Spartans climbed out of the troop bay, this time one soldier short, and made for the bridge. On the bridge, Drake approached the Captain of the ship and gave a crisp salute.

"Sir, Spartan Drake-114." Drake stated.

"At ease, Spartan." The Captain waved. Drake relaxed and looked him square in the eye.

"Sir, the mission was successful. The cannon was destroyed, only one Spartan casualty." Drake reported a bit too casually.

"My sympathies, Spartan." The Captain said. "I'll report in to Admiral Parangosky and let her know. You and your team go get some sleep. It is well deserved." Drake nodded, gave a salute, and left the Bridge with his Spartans.


	2. Chapter 2

UNSC _Hidden Enigma _Mess Hall

In Slipspace en route to Unknown Destination

November 19th 2545 (0830 Military Standard Time)

"Mind if I join you?" Spartan Brooke-115 asked Drake who was enjoying his meal. He looked up in almost surprise. She was not clad in her armor, like him, as he was used to seeing. She wore standard issue UNSC fatigue bottoms with combat boots and a black tank top undershirt. Her pale, nearly translucent skin was typical of a Spartan. Her short, dark hair and warm brown eyes accentuated her pale skin even more.

"Please do," Drake pointed to the seat across from him. He was alone in the mess hall since most of the crew preferred to keep their distance from the Spartans.

"So did you hear what our next assignment is?" Brooke asked, resting her arms on the table.

"Not yet, haven't even been told where we're heading. Typical ONI spooks." Drake said, finishing his food and pushing his tray aside.

"We are ONI's most secretive, Shadow Operations team. We are soldiers that don't exist, on a ship that was never built, going on missions that never happened. And they still keep us in the dark. If I don't die in battle, I'll die from irony." Brooke said with a half smile. Drake looked down trying to stifle off a smile.

"ONI loves its secrets. But even still it doesn't make sense. We should know our destination so we can plan out our mission better. I don't want a repeat of last mission, I want all the intel possible before we go in. If ONI would have allowed us to take a day to run planet scans, orbital recon, hell even a scan of the Camp and a few kilos around it. We would have been able to plan better, and David might have lived." Drake said with building frustration.

"Drake, you can't blame yourself for his death. There was nothing that could have been done." Brooke said, reaching out to place her hand on his. "Death in the field is a risk we all run. Especially the Spartan-III's, they are under equipped compared to us. They were designed with a one hundred percent mission fatality rate. The fact that he lived this long was a miracle." Brooke tried to console Drake.

"I suppose you're right. But I refuse to lose anymore, we're down one man, we need all we can get. These missions have gotten pretty hairy over the years. Do you realize we've been doing this for almost twenty years Brooke?" Drake asked as if just realizing it himself.

"No kidding? We've been doing ONI's dirty work for twenty years?" Brooke asked, raising her eyebrows in disbelief.

"Twenty damn years of this. It's gone by quick hasn't it?" Drake asked.

"Quicker than I thought. Seems like just yesterday we were being kidnapped from Reach after our augmentations." Brooke shook her head still not believing how fast time has passed. Just then an ONI agent approached the two Spartans holding a data pad.

"Excuse me Lieutenant, I need to speak with you immediately." The agent stated flatly. He looked at Brooke and gave an annoyed grunt. "Alone, please." Drake and her both nodded as she stood up.

"That's okay, I'm allergic to spook anyway." Brooke practically spit while glaring at the ONI agent. "We'll talk later Drake," she winked. Drake nodded as she walked away.

"Take a seat," Drake said in an annoyed manner. The spook sat down and flipped through his data pad.

"I've been authorized to brief you on your net assignment." He said with an apathetic glance.

"And you couldn't do that with Brooke here?" Drake asked flaring his hands slightly.

"Sorry, your ears only." The agent replied.

"Fine, let's hear it." Drake said rolling his eyes.

"We are en route to a small moon just outside UNSC controlled space. ONI believes the Covenant has found something encased in the moon." The agent read from his data pad.

"I see, so we're being sent in to stop their excavation process?" Drake asked.

"Partially," the spook flared his eyebrows. "Your mission is to stop the excavation, and eliminate all Covenant forces. That way ONI can send in their own team of scientists to check things out."

"Come on don't make it too easy." Drake said sarcastically. "What other intel do we have? How are they excavating it? How many troops do they have on the ground? Any ships in the area?" Drake fired off questions.

"We're not sure what type of excavation equipment they have. Original scans showed they were using an Energy Projector. Now that they have gotten deeper into the moon their excavation equipment is unknown. As for force deployment, we are unsure of infantry numbers but they have two SDV-class Heavy Corvettes and one CRS-class Light Cruiser." The agent listed the intelligence from his data pad.

"Decent orbital support. Going off that alone it seems to be something pretty important." Drake speculated.

"ONI seems to think so." The spook said, confidently puffing out his chest for a second.

"How did ONI find this out?" Drake questioned.

"That's classified," the agent replied.

"Classified? You want to tell me something is classified?" Drake said with true annoyance.

"The classification comes straight from Admiral Parangosky herself." The spook said, silently challenging the Spartan.

"Fine, get me intel on the ground troops then." Drake said, standing up from the table. "I want it sent to my personal data pad in an hour." The agent nodded as Drake left the mess hall.

* * *

After his talk with the ONI agent, Drake put on his armor and went to the hangar to see Brooke looking over one of the stealth Pelican wearing her armor as well. A devious smile appeared on Drake's face as he quickly and quietly approached Brooke from behind. He tried to put her in a head lock, but she was somehow ready. She grabbed Drake's arm, elbowed him in the ribs and threw him to the ground.

"Still quick as ever I see," Drake said starting to stand back up.

"Or are you getting slow in your old age?" Brooke shot back with a hidden grin.

"We'll see," Drake said preparing to fight. He took a swing at Brooke with his right fist and she easily dodged it. She brought her leg up to kick him in the side, but he deflected it. She followed up with a quick left hook, but Drake caught her arm. He tried to put her in an arm bar but she quickly got out of his grip. She ran to his back but Drake spun on his heel with a nasty right hook in tow. His fist connected with her lower jaw, knocking her down to the ground. A jolt of worry shot through Drake's body, afraid that he may have seriously injured her. He carefully approached her on the ground to see if she was okay. When Drake got closer, in a lightning quick motion, Brooke swept his legs out from under him. He landed flat on his back in total shock. Brooke planted her foot firmly on his chest and looked at Drake with arms crossed.

"Pathetic old man," she teased.

"Enough with this old man stuff. Your just as old you crazy woman." Drake fired back. Brooke was about to come back with another comment when the shipboard alarm went off.

"What's going on?" Brooke asked as she pulled Drake up off the ground.

"No idea," he shrugged. "Let's find out." They both took off towards the command deck for answers.

"What's the situation Captain?" Drake asked as he barged onto the deck.

"We dropped out of slipspace to rendezvous with the UNSC _Break of Dawn_ for supply pickup. We dropped into normal space to find it destroyed with a Covenant corvette waiting in ambush." The Captain replied staring at the molten wreckage of the UNSC ship.

"Please tell me the cargo I think was on that ship actually wasn't?" Drake asked already knowing the answer.

"It was, but I still have a signal from its emergency transponder. So I assume the crates are still intact." The Captain replied with a bit of good news.

"Alright then, call down to the hangar. I want you to put my Spartan-III's on a stealth Pelican to collect the crates." Drake pointed to the Captain, then he turned around to face Brooke. "Brooke you're with me, let's go take down that corvette." Brooke nodded and they left the deck in a hurry.

* * *

"We're seriously taking a lifeboat to get to that corvette?" Brooke asked as they climbed inside and sealed the hatch.

"Got a better idea?" Drake asked as he sat in the pilot's seat and prepared for launch.

"We could jump." She said only half joking.

"I'll pass," Drake shook his head. "Alright hold on to your ass!" He yelled has he punched the ignition. The lifeboat jettisoned from the ship and hurdled towards the Covenant vessel.

"Remember, aim for the top. There's an external landing pad there." Brooke suggested as she peeked around the pilot's chair.

"Aye but we're not landing. Well not in the traditional sense." Drake corrected himself.

"Then in what sense?" Brooke asked with concern.

"The Spartan sense." Drake slightly smiled and increased speed. "You may want to sit down."

"I'll be fine." Brooke said tensing up anyway. Drake aimed the lifeboat for the access hatch in the center of the external landing pad. He held on to a bar next to his head and braced for impact. The small craft crashed through the landing pad and inside the ship. The whole section depressurized, sucking everything not bolted down into space. Luckily the lifeboat had lodged itself into the ship and did not budge.

"You okay Brooke?" Drake asked trying to shake his foggy head.

"Excellent," she grunted a reply. "The medical readout on my HUD says I have a minor concussion, some cracked ribs and a few good sized bruises. Pretty good I'd say."

"Concussion here too, some strained tendons and ligaments in my right arm and cracked shoulder blade. Damn it...looks like my shields are busted too. They're not recharging, and the alarm is not helping my headache. Do a quick systems check Brooke, make sure everything is working."

"Already done, all suit systems are normal." She replied pulling herself to her feet.

"I guess I'll just have to be more careful. On a ship full of Covenant with no shields. Wonderful." Drake complained getting to his feet as well. He picked up his M6D Magnum from the floor and checked it over. It functioned properly and had a round already in the chamber, which satisfied Drake. Brooke readied her own M6G magnum to go.

"Still using that dinosaur?" She poked fun at Drake's magnum.

"Hey she's served me well all these years. I'll get rid of her when she breaks beyond repair." Drake said tightening his grip on the pistol, and trying his best to ignore the pain.

"Right, ready to go?" She jerked her head towards the door. Drake nodded and took point. He forced the doors open and stepped out with his pistol at the ready. The area was desolate so he waved Brooke along behind him. She followed as he headed for the hangar of the corvette, which unlike the last room, was filled with Covenant. The two Spartans took cover on either side of the ramp leading to the center of the hangar. The Covenant was already on high alert and opened fire on them the moment they stepped through the door. Sizzling bolts of plasma flew through the air over their heads. Brooke quickly popped up from cover and took a pot shot towards a stack of Covenant plasma batteries. The lucky shot struck the battery causing it to detonate. Causing a chain reaction in the hangar, detonating many more batteries near by.

All the Covenant in the hangar ducked for cover as explosions ran across the room. The Spartans took that as an opportunity and fired on the hiding aliens. One after the other fell to perfectly placed bullets from their weapons. After a couple clips only a couple Elites were left alive in the hangar. Drake jerked his head towards the center of the room ad Brooke nodded in understanding. They stalked down the ramp with magnums at the ready. But the Elites were nowhere to be seen.

"Be careful, they must be using active camo," Drake whispered. Brooke flashed an acknowledgment light in his HUD and pressed on. He looked over at Brooke to see a faint shimmer directly behind her. With quick reflexes he took a shot where he thought the head would be. It missed the Elites head but it scraped his helmet, causing the camouflage to flicker momentarily. Drake fired a bit lower and struck it in the head. The Camouflage faded and its shields broke. Drake squeezed the trigger one last time and put a bullet through the Elites skull. The hulking creature collapsed to the floor in a heap. Brooke spun around to see another shimmer behind the dead Elite and fired off her magnum. Shot after shot connected with the alien's mass until it fell into a pool of its own blood.

Satisfied that the Elites were dealt with they pressed on towards the command deck. They carefully walked through the corridors with pistols ready until they reached the deck. In the center stood an Elite in bronze orange armor, with a helmet decorated in glowing orange horns. Other, less ornate armored Elites manned the various stations on the deck. The Elite in orange armor, presumably the Shipmaster, turned to take notice of the intruding Spartans. He yelled a command in what Drake assumed was his native tongue, and the other Elites drew their weapons. They all fired on the Spartans as they dove into cover.

"Any ideas?" Drake asked.

"Actually yes. Even though your shields are busted, we may be able to make some sort of explosive out of the generator." Brooke suggested. Drake looked to his left to see an Elite in cobalt armor flanking them.

"No time," he said as he fired at the Elite. A few shots to the head and the hinge-head tumbled to the ground. The rest started to flank them, giving the two Spartans cause to fire off all the remaining ammunition they had.

"Well we took care of the lesser Elites. Still the Shipmaster to deal with." As Brooke said that, the orange armored elite jumped over their cover with his energy sword drawn. He turned around to face the Spartans with a deep, terrifying roar. All four of his mandibles fully extended as the guttural sound escaped its throat. Drake rushed him without even thinking and the Elite readied his sword. He swung it across his chest to try and remove Drake's head. The Spartan managed to duck in time and tackled the great beast to the ground. The hinge-head held his energy sword tightly and tried to strike the attacking Spartan. Drake repeatedly started punching the alien in the face which only seemed to anger the Elite. Brooke quickly rushed over to the two of them. She disarmed the hinge-head by crushing its wrist under her boot. With the energy sword up for grabs, Brooke picked it up and plunged it into the creatures side. It let out a pained howl as the burning blade fried its vital organs. Drake climbed off the dead alien and wiped the blood off his armor's knuckles.

"Thanks for that," Drake conveyed his gratitude. Brooke gave a thumbs up as they both went to the bridge's command console. After a few minutes of searching and tinkering, the duo was able to set the ship to detonate. A countdown began, making the Spartans take off for the hangar to seize a Covenant dropship and fly on out. There was one Phantom-Class dropship in the hangar ready to go which they quickly boarded. Somewhat familiar with the interface, Drake undocked the craft and took off out the hangar doors.

"This is Spartan-114 inbound on a stolen Phantom. Permission to come aboard?"

"Permission granted, but ditch the Phantom. We'll open up the hangar doors." The Captain replied over the COMs.

"Aye, aye sir." Drake replied and shut off the COMs. He stopped the ship just outside of the hangar doors. He depressurized the dropship and opened the side doors. Brooke and Drake jumped from the dropship and floated in to the hangar. They floated down to the floor and firmly planted their boots to steady themselves .

"Let's get to the Bridge and report in." Drake said looking over Brooke, making sure she was fine. Brooke gave a thumbs up and followed closely behind Drake.

* * *

The Spartans stood with the Captain as they watched the corvette explode in a white hot flash of energy.

"Thank you two for dealing with that ship. As for the cargo, your Spartan-III's successfully located and extracted the containers. They're in the Armory trying on their new toys right now. You're dismissed Spartan." The Captain waved.

"Thank you sir," Drake saluted and left for the Armory.


	3. Chapter 3

UNSC _Hidden Enigma _Armory

Hidden Near Covenant Dig Site on Unnamed Moon

December 13th 2545 (1845 Military Standard Time)

"So how did the tests of the Spartan-III's new armor go?" Drake asked the technician reviewing data on the tests.

"Quite well sir. The tests conclude an forty percent increase to their combat effectiveness, lethality, and survivability." The technician replied with delight.

"Could you give me a rundown of the upgrades to their armor one more time? I heard you made some upgrades since we retrieved them anyway." Drake said intensely studying the footage. He had been there in person to see the tests but he was still astounded.

"Of course. We call it SPI Armor Mk. III for the sake of simplicity. Superficially the armor was designed to more closely resemble MJOLNIR armor. It was designed alongside the experimental MJOLNIR Mk. V armor, which is still a work in progress, so it has design similarities to that. Its first line of defense is an energy shield system similar to the experimental shield technology in your upgraded Mk. IV armor. We couldn't afford to do a shield as powerful as yours, since the technology is still new, so their shield capacity is smaller with a longer recharge time."

"Really? This shield system Brooke and I were given already takes a good minute to recharge. Which in battle is an eternity." Drake said with disbelief.

"Yes we are aware but this technology is still in early prototype phase, the fact that yours recharge as fast and have the capacity they do is costly enough. Anyway as I was saying, their shields have a smaller capacity meaning they can take one maybe two bolts of plasma before they break. Still that's one to two more hits they can take unharmed. Next up is the refractive coating on the outer armor panels to further defend against plasma attacks. Of course the armor also had its photo-reactive panels upgraded. They now more effectively hide the wearer, but they are still sensitive to intense light. The HUD software was updated, including the Visual Intelligence System, Reconnaissance similar to ODST's. Obviously they also have an upgraded power pack to run all the new systems. Finally we upgraded their rebreather system to allow for a half hour of breathable air. With the option to connect extra air tanks. Oh of course, how could I forget, they have been sealed tight and vacuum rated for space operations." The technician finally finished the rundown.

"Incredible, this should definitely help a lot. From the sound of all the upgrades I'm guessing it won't be mass produced." Drake speculated as he stretched out his right arm.

"No, it's to expensive for large scale deployment. Top-secret ONI use only." The technician replied, returning to reviewing the test footage.

"One more thing, any word on that prototype Mk. V MJOLNIR armor?" Drake asked with a tilt of his head.

"Nothing has come across our desks yet. Last I knew they were finishing up the Alpha prototype. The experimental upgrades we made to your armor came from the Alpha stage tests. With the field test data we've been sending, they should be in the Beta stage. I would say another few years before a viable prototype is ready though." The technician replied getting minutely annoyed with Drake's lingering presence.

"I see..." Drake pondered the time frame. "Well let ONI know I want first dibs on the armor." Drake said turning to leave.

"I'll make sure of it." He replied flatly. Drake left the Armory without a word and headed for the hangar to stow his gear on a Pelican dropship. The Captain had told him the mission would kick off at 2000 so they would be leaving soon enough.

Drake placed his Assault Rifle in the overhead storage in the troop bay. He placed a box of six magazines next to it all ready for the mission. He kept his Magnum and ammo on him instead of stowing it, he preferred to keep his trusty sidearm on him. Drake sat down on the Pelican's ramp and looked out over the rest of the hangar. Deep in thought, a hand clasped to his shoulder made him jump slightly.

"Easy Drake, it's just me." Brooke said to him with a look of surprise from his reaction. She had her helmet tucked between her arm and side, its blank visor staring at Drake. He looked at her face which regained its statuesque composure. Her pale skin made her look like a beautiful marble sculpture, hard and unmoving.

"Brooke," Drake finally said. "What are you doing?"

"Heard you were down here waiting to depart. We still have a little time so I thought I would give you some company. I already notified the Spartan-III's to rally up here in thirty." Brooke stated, taking a seat beside Drake.

"Thanks," he said removing his helmet. Drake set it between him and Brooke and let out a long sigh. "I hope this mission goes more smoothly than the last."

"Does it ever?" Brooke asked half joking. "Look we have better intel now, and the Spartan-III's have their new armor. We are short one man but we'll make do." Brooke said trying to ease Drake's mind.

"I still worry, I mean we literally have about an hour to complete this mission before the Spartan-III's run out of air. Then a half hour more for us. We have to eliminate all Covenant forces and stop the excavation in under an hour to survive." Drake said with worry hinting on his face.

"Actually, the latest orbital scans show the Covenant have erected a temporary atmospheric bubble. As long as we can get into that bubble we can save our air." Brooke stated hoping to ease his worry more.

"They failed to tell me that much. One less thing to worry about but...maybe we should leave Ty and Hunter behind." Drake pondered.

"No, we can't just cut them out. They're part of this team too. With David gone we need all hands on deck. You need to realize just because we're Spartan-II's, we're not invincible gods of battle." She looked at him with a blank face.

"I know, I just don't want to lose any more. I'm tired of burying friends Brooke. First we received word that half our Spartan class died, then every Spartan death after that. I'm getting sick of seeing my family put in the ground." Drake leveled with her.

"And you think I'm not? I hate it too, but we have a job to do. There's a difference between a dead soldier and a wasted soldier. Do not let their deaths be for nothing Drake." Brooke said, driving sense into his head.

"You're right," he finally conceded after a few minutes of silence. "Get Ty and Hunter down here now and tell the Captain we're leaving early. I can't sit here idly waiting. We need to act, the Covenant have had an extra month of time already." Drake stood up, grabbing his helmet, and walked to the Pelican's cockpit.

"Aye aye, sir." She said placing her helmet on her head and hopping down from the ship's ramp. Drake powered up the Pelican's systems and began a system check with the engines still off. Once all the checks read green he powered up the engines and let them idle to have the system warm up. Then he ran another set of checks to make sure things were good to go. By the time the Pelican was ready, the Spartan-III's and Brooke were climbing in to the troop bay. Ty and Hunter sat in the troop bay while Brooke went to the cockpit and climbed into the co-pilot's seat.

"We're ready when you are Drake." Brooke said linking her HUD with the co-pilot's terminal.

"Pelican's systems read green, we are Oscar Mike." Drake stretched out his neck in anticipation. He lit up the vertical thrusters and undocked from the hangar's holding clamps. Drake closed the rear hatch of the Pelican and drifted over to line up with the hangar's door.

"Stealth systems engaged, we are running silent. Go when ready." Brooke said with stone-cold readiness.

"Roger that. Hotel Echo this is Pelican Foxtrot Seven, we are departing station." Drake broadcasted to the ship's bridge. Without response he keyed the thrusters and shot out of the hangar towards the small moon. It grew bigger and bigger in the Pelican's view screen as they approached. Drake hoped to himself that the stealth systems would not fail. He tightened his grip on the controls as the small dropship passed the large Covenant ships. Were it not for the glowing lights on the underside of the cruiser he probably would not be able to tell where it was. Drake was tense, expecting the Cruiser or Corvettes to see them and attack. A single plasma torpedo would turn the small Pelican to nothingness.

"Drake relax," Brooke spoke. "The stealth systems are engaged, they can't detect us."

"It's just nerve-wracking you know. Flying this close to a ship that big and that powerful." Drake worried.

"Just get us there quick." Brooke said looking straight on. Drake recomposed himself and pushed all doubts and worries away.

"You're right. ETA to moon is five minutes." Drake was disappointed in himself for getting so worked up. _I'm a Spartan for God's sake. Get it together,_ He thought to himself. Once they neared the moon, Drake slowed the Pelican and brought it down a little ways outside the dig site. He powered down the dropship and climbed out of the pilot's seat. Brooke followed suit, climbing down from the co-pilot's seat. They looked at each other for a moment and simultaneously nodded. The two Spartans entered the troop bay to see Ty and Hunter prepped and ready to go.

"Sir, Spartan Ty and Hunter are prepped and ready." Ty said with a crisp salute.

"Good," Drake waved for him to be at ease. "Let's go over the plan for this op. Brooke you got it?" Drake asked turning to his fellow Spartan-II.

"Of course," Brooke gave a thumbs up. "This is the plan. Ty and Hunter, you will approach the air lock into the drill site with your camo on. Try and be as stealthy as possible. Take out the two hinge-heads standing guard and open the outer doors. Once they're open, we'll move in to get the inner doors open. When we get inside we're going to split up and make our way to ground zero of the dig. We'll rally up there and devise a plan to stop the dig. Once that is taken care of we'll systematically move through the camp and dispatch any and all Covenant forces. Any questions?" Brooke asked looking around.

"No ma'am," Ty and Hunter responded.

"Good, lock and load Spartans!" She commanded. They all nodded and got set to disembark. Drake grabbed his Assault Rifle and ammo from the overhead storage and quickly checked it over. Satisfied with his quick once over, he slammed a magazine in and pulled back on the charging handle. He gripped the weapon tight and approached the Pelican's troop bay door. He punched in the code at the terminal to open the door. The troop bay depressurized and then the door opened to the vast moonscape. The Spartans stepped out and formed a defensive half circle of firing lines.

Drake gave a hand signal for Ty and Hunter to move out. They pinged an acknowledgment light in his HUD and activated their camouflage. Drake could barely make out anything was there at all. Where it not for their movement he probably would not see them, which was bad news for the Covenant. Ty and Hunter flanked the two guards at the door and slung their rifles. They each pulled out a razor-sharp combat knife and crept closer to the unsuspecting Elites. In one swift and fluid motion, the two Spartan-III's plunged their blades into the guards' necks. They slowly collapsed to the ground in a motionless heap. They both deactivated their camo system to save battery power. Hunter went to the door's controls and quickly began working to open it. After a minute, he got the first set of doors open and quickly ushered Ty inside the airlock.

"Shadow Leader this is Shadow Three, first set of doors are open. You are free to advance." Ty radioed to Drake over their team's COM channel.

"Copy that Shadow Three," Drake quickly replied. "We are on our way." Drake and Brooke swiftly reached the airlock and shut the external doors behind them. Hunter began working on the terminal inside the airlock. After a few tries he managed to cycle the airlock but could not open the doors.

"Sir, I can't get these doors open from this side." Hunter shook his head.

"It must need to be opened from the other side. If it does open that means the Covenant knows we're here and will be waiting for us." Drake noted, pointing at the door. Just then the doors let out a hiss as they began to open.

"Damn, Spartans be ready!" Brooke ordered, readying her rifle. The other three did the same, all trained on the opening door. When the two halves parted, it revealed two Jackals standing with shields at the ready. The Spartans opened fire and knocked the bird-like creatures to the ground. Ty and Hunter flanked the downed aliens and put bullets into their skulls. Shortly after an alarm sounded, alerting all Covenant to their presence.

"Great, looks like stealth is out of the question." Drake grunted.

"Maybe not," Ty suggested. "They don't know exactly how many of us there are. Hunter and I can camo up and sneak over to the drill site. While you take out the Covenant, we can stop the digging."

"But if they catch you, you're done for. Even with your new armor you won't last long." Drake objected.

"That's only if they catch us. We will be completely hidden, plus all of the Covie forces will be heading for here." Ty replied.

"Sounds good to me, go." Brooke ordered before Drake could say anything.

"Yes ma'am." Ty nodded and activated his camouflage. Hunter did the same and the two faint shimmers took off towards the center of the camp.

"Brooke, what the hell was that?" Drake demanded.

"Not now dear, we have company." She jerked her head to the left. The two Spartans turned, with rifles raised, to meet the coming Alien assault. They both crouched behind some barricades and waited. Soon a flurry of plasma bolts were sizzling over their heads.

"I'm reading twenty-seven contacts in front of us, with more coming every second." Drake announced.

"We have contacts amassing all around us now. We are surrounded with our backs to the door, any ideas?" Brooke asked.

"Let the lead fly!" Drake exclaimed, popping out over the barricade. He fired multiple short, controlled bursts into the coming onslaught of Covenant. One after another, the short and stocky Grunts fell in the front. Once Drake had emptied his magazine, he dropped down to swap mags, and Brooke popped up to open fire. They alternated like this for a few rounds until the they came under sniper fire.

"Shit, Jackal snipers!" Brooke called after a plasma beam narrowly missed her head.

"Great, it's suicide to pop out now." Drake grunted with frustration.

"Well we took down a good half of the camp I'd say." She speculated. "But they'll be all over us soon. We might be in trouble."

"We have to do something." Drake replied, managing his frustration levels. From deep inside the camp, the Spartans heard a deafening explosion. The thunder of the blast echoed throughout the dome, bringing all eyes on the center.

"Ty and Hunter must have blown the excavator!" Brooke exclaimed with surprise.

"Excellent, and it looks like the Covenant are focusing on the dig site now." Drake observed as all the Covenant started to disappear from view and the motion trackers. The two Spartans sat behind cover a little longer to make sure the Covenant were gone when they were tapped on the shoulders. They turned around and Ty and Hunter both materialized as if from nowhere.

"I suppose that was your doing Spartans?" Drake asked with a hint of pride.

"Yes sir! One less thing to worry about." Ty replied with a slight smile behind his visor.

"And I took the liberty of tapping into the environment controls. Just give me the word and I can have this whole bubble sucked out into space. Or suffocated by turning off the air. Either one." Hunter added.

"Good, then we should be going. Pop the cork on this bubble and call it a day." Drake announced, trying to mask his glee.

"Hold on, incoming message from the Captain." Brooke said turning her head to listen. After a tense minute Brooke turned back to the group. "We have trouble. Looks like the Covenant sounded the alarm. The Light Cruiser and Corvettes are en route."

"Outstanding." Drake grumbled while trying to formulate a plan. "Well we have about five minutes before we're getting plasma rained down upon us."

"Maybe not," Ty suggested with a raised arm. "They probably won't deliberately attack this place. They wouldn't want to damage whatever they're digging."

"Another transmission," Brooke announced. "Seems like the Covenant ships are on an intercept trajectory with the moon. As in not an attack run, but a suicidal dash to the moon. Wait...that can't be right. The Captain is also saying there's a slipspace rupture coming from...inside the moon?" As she finished her sentence, Drake felt the very crust beneath his feet rumble. Then came multiple thunderous cracks from the center of the bubble.

"I don't know what's going on but we need to leave, now!" Drake commanded. All four Spartans took off for the air lock. They quickly decompressed the airlock and opened the external doors. Once they opened, the Spartans took off as quickly as possible for the open Pelican. Drake got in first and leaped into the Pilot's seat. He quickly started up the engines, skipping pre-flight checks, and sealed the bay doors. He compressed the inside of the Pelican and punched the thrusters. The small dropship took off quickly into space towards the last known coordinates of the _Hidden Enigma_.

"Drake, you're gonna want to see this." Hunter called to the cockpit. Drake turned his head to his voice and activated the autopilot. He climbed out of the pilot's seat and walked to the rear of the Pelican. Out of the view port he saw the moon shrinking behind them, or what was left of it. Half of the moon's surface was completely gone.

"What is that thing?" Drake asked with bewilderment.

"Looks like a portal into slipspace. I've never seen anything like this." Hunter admitted.

"None of us have as far as I know. Get a few images of this, the Captain will want to see this." Drake said still staring in absolute awe.


	4. Chapter 4

**HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-Six**

**Sydney, Australia**

**February 15th 2546 (1400 Military Standard Time)**

"Glad you could make it on such short notice." Admiral Parangosky said to the fully armored Spartan standing before her. Drake-114 saluted the Admiral and she waved him at ease.

"We returned as fast as our slipspace drive would carry us, ma'am."

"Indeed," she replied without softening her stone-faced expression. However her usually piercing gaze softened on the Spartan as he removed his helmet, tucking it between his arm and waist. "I do apologize for recalling you Lieutenant. As mysterious and awe-inspiring as that slipspace gate was, I had to do it. We know nothing about it and I cannot waste one of my most valuable resources on a reckless charge through an unknown portal."

"I understand ma'am," Drake gave a slight sigh. "But if I may, what do you plan to do?"

"I've already sent a research team to the coordinates you provided. They will study this object so we can figure out what it is, where it came from and where it goes. Once we have an exit point, we'll send a probe through and survey the other side for activity. Once we know what's over there, then I'll send in your team." The Admiral told Drake.

"Yes ma'am but that could take some time. What would you have me do in the mean time?" The Spartan asked, itching to get back to work.

"Don't you worry Spartan, You'll have plenty to do. First of all though, a congratulations is in order. The paperwork went through and I was authorized to give you a promotion. So congratulations, Commander Drake." Parangosky gave the slightest of smiles, so discreet only Drake could have picked up on it.

"Thank you ma'am, it's an honor." Drake snapped to attention and saluted the Admiral.

"At ease, Spartan." She nodded and he relaxed. "This also means that you and your team will be removed from the _Hidden Enigma_ and given command of your very own ship. After I'm finished with you, a Pelican will take you to the dark side of the moon. That's where your ship is, fully stocked, fully crewed, and ready to go." Parangosky said, noticing a faint smile crack on the Spartan's face.

"Thank you ma'am, I can't wait to get started." Drake replied, keeping his excitement contained for the most part.

"Of course, speaking of which, your next assignment." Parangosky turned her gaze to the datapad in front of her. "Sensor probes were combing systems that have fallen to the Covenant, which usually reports nothing of note. However a couple weeks ago, one of the probes notified me of some Covenant activity at Emerald Cove."

"Emerald Cove? Wasn't that planet evacuated and then untouched by the Covenant?" Drake asked, scratching his head with a gloved hand.

"It was. Covenant never touched the place, until now it seems. I'm not sure what they're up to, but I know it can't be good. I want you and your team to find out what they are up to, and stop it." Admiral Parangosky stated, staring intently at Drake.

"A simple search and Destroy mission?" Drake questioned.

"Simply speaking, yes. And remember two very important things. You only follow orders given directly by me and do whatever you feel is necessary to complete the mission. And I do mean anything, feel free to get creative." She told him with hidden intrigue "Oh and by the way, I added a couple new members to your team. Make sure you make them feel welcomed."

"Consider it done ma'am." Drake saluted and left the briefing room.

**Dark Side of Luna**

**Sol System**

**Later that same day**

The Pelican approached the jet black Charon-class UNSC Frigate. As they passed by to enter the hangar, Drake noticed the big white letters printed on the side: _Any Given Sunday_. This was his new ship, and he was told his Spartans had already transferred and settled in. Drake wondered who his new team members might be. _ODST's maybe? _He thought at first. The Pelican gently slid into the docking clamps inside of the Frigate's hangar.

"Guess I'm about to find out," Drake mumbled to himself. He climbed out of the Pelican's troop bay and exited the Hangar. He headed straight for the bridge to meet his new crew and team. When Drake stepped on to the bridge, one of the officers called the bridge to attention.

"At ease," Drake held up his hand slightly. A smile cracked along his stone expression when he noticed Brooke and the rest of his team. Then he noticed two figures in Semi-Powered Infiltration armor. _More Spartans? Unexpected..._ Drake thought.

"Welcome back, Commander." Brooke saluted in a half joking gesture.

"Thank you, Brooke. Ty, Hunter, good to see you again."

"Likewise Commander," They replied.

"And who might these two be, in outdated SPI armor?" Drake asked, staring intently at the Spartans.

"Spartan Sampson-B263, reporting as ordered!" Sampson announced with a crisp salute.

"Spartan May-B175, reporting as ordered!" May replied to her Commander with an equally crisp salute.

"Welcome Sampson, May, glad to have you on board." Drake said sincerely. He clasped Brooke on the shoulder and whispered in her ear. "Send their files to my personal datapad." Brooke nodded in response. Drake sat down in the command chair and brought up the files on the bridge crew. He pulled up the file of the Navigations Officer, one Lieutenant Junior Grade Chell Santiago. He read over the notes left by her previous commanding officers. _Good spirits, always has a smile, keeps up morale even in heavy combat. _

"Good," Drake whispered. "Lieutenant Santiago!" Drake called out.

"Sir!?" Chell replied, snapping to attention.

"Set a course for Emerald Cove, prepare to depart immediately." He commanded.

"Aye, aye sir!" She answered and quickly went to work, her fingers dancing across the console. Drake pulled up the file of a Lieutenant Commander Stephen Russell.

"Lieutenant Commander Russell, take command of the bridge. I'm heading to the mission room." Drake announced.

"Aye Commander!" Russel called back. Drake met his team in the mission room where he briefed them on what he could for the upcoming assignment Parangosky gave them.

**Emerald Cove**

**[NAVIGATION DATA CORRUPT : SYSTEM NOT FOUND]**

**April 7th 2546 (1335 Military Standard Time)**

"Any Covenant?" Drake asked, staring intently at the planet before him. It looked completely untouched, with beautiful blue seas and emerald patches of land.

"None detected sir." COMs officer Ensign Karin Jacobs replied still scanning the screen.

"Send a probe around back of the planet, they may be hiding there." Drake said with skepticism. The Covenant was up to something out here, and he was going to find out what.

"Wait..." Jacobs said somewhat hushed. "I'm reading two Covenant SDV-class Corvettes. Three Kilos out and closing, sir."

"Activate all stealth systems, I want us completely silent and invisible as possible. Then bring down our orbit and get us behind the planet as soon as possible." Drake commanded and the whole deck came to life, tapping away at consoles to carry out his orders.

"Sir!" Jacobs called out in alarm. "Slipspace ruptures detected! Three CCS-class Covenant Battlecruisers and one CAS-class Assault Carrier!"

"Dear God..." Drake said in disbelief. "They're hauling out the big guns. I want probes watching them. Where they stop, if they go to the surface I want to know where." Drake said trying to contain his worry.

The UNSC _Any Given Sunday_ was able to hide behind the planet, but their low orbit would bring them back around before too long. The Covenant Assault Carrier came to a low hover, about five thousand meters up, with the Corvettes providing aerial support at ten thousand meters. The CCS-class Battlecruisers remained in orbit over the area the Corvettes had locked down.

"Commander, we have their location. The Carrier has yet to start offloading troops, but I suggest we don't wait to act." Lieutenant Jacobs suggested.

"Noted," Drake replied flatly. Drake pressed a button on his terminal to open a COM channel to his Spartans. "All Spartans report to Hell's waiting room. I repeat, all Spartans report to Hell's waiting room. Grab a pod and prepare to drop." He climbed out of his chair and headed for the section holding the HEV drop pods. When he arrived, the other five Spartans were climbing into their pods ready to fight. The pods sealed up and waited for Drake's command pod to give the drop signal. He opened the team channel that connected the pods.

"Alright Spartans, as soon as our ship gets in position, I'll give the drop signal. Here's the plan: _Any Given Sunday_ will dip into the atmosphere above the Corvettes. The ship can't afford to come to a stop, or else those Battlecruisers will tear her apart. So we'll drop as she flies over, if all goes to plan our pods will hit one of the Corvettes. Hopefully the hull will be thick enough to stop us from going all the way through. Once on the Covenant ship we'll head for the bridge and take control. We'll attempt to use their ship weapons against them, destroy the other Corvette, then the Assault Carrier. If we fail to utilize their weapons, we'll go for the good old fashion Spartan approach."

"He means we're going to ram the hell out of that Carrier." Brooke interjected, explaining to the others.

"Damn right!" Drake replied. "If we completely miss the Corvette or go through it, rally up on my pod and we'll plan accordingly. Any questions?" He was answered by silence. "Excellent, get ready. Time 'til drop is five minutes." The Spartans waited in silence, checking over their suit's systems on their HUDs. As they waited they felt the ship enter atmosphere, and the heat that came with it. Once in atmosphere, the bridge called to their pods.

"We've entered atmosphere Commander. Time 'til drop, thirty seconds."

"Alright Spartans, you heard it. Get strapped in and tighten up, we're about to drop." Drake said with exhilaration. Carrying out missions was the only thing that made the Spartan feel right, it cleared his head perfectly. A timer in his pod read fifteen, fifteen seconds until they descended. At ten the doors underneath them slid open and the pods began to dangle over the planet racing below. At five Drake gave the word.

"Punch it Spartans!" Drake hit the release button and one by one, the five pods jettisoned from the Frigate. They all aimed their pods towards the closest Corvette and hoped for the best. The pod jerked as the parachute deployed to slow down their descent. Drake looked out his pods window and saw one pod accelerating faster than normal. His HUD labeled the pod as belonging to Sampson.

"Spartan Sampson, your pod is accelerating out of control. What's going on?" Drake asked with worry.

"Parachutes stuck, sir. I'm done for." Sampson replied with a defeated sigh. Before drake could respond, Sampson's pod skimmed the edge of the Corvette and struck the ground with immense force.

"Sampson-B263...KIA..." Drake reluctantly stated, crossing off his name on the roster. He shook the thought out of his mind and braced himself for impact. The other four pods struck the Covenant ship dead on, and luckily the hull was thick enough to slow them down. Their pods stopped dead in their tracks by the ships interior floors. Drake opened his door and jumped out to survey the area, weapon at the ready. He scanned the hallways stretching away from his crash site.

"Shadow team report in." Drake ordered on a secure COM channel.

"Brooke-115 reporting in. Green status."

"Ty-B147 reporting in. Green as well, sir."

"Hunter-A184 reporting in," he grunted in pain. "I am not green sir, report not green."

"What's the situation?" Drake asked.

"My pod broke open mid way through. I was tossed through the hull in just my armor. I cant see what's broken but my bio-signs are all red. It doesn't look good..." Hunter coughed and audibly winced in pain.

"You sit tight Spartan, we're on our way." Drake consoled him. "May, what's your status?"

"Green sir, already on my way to Spartan-A184." She replied calmly.

"Good, everyone else follow her example. Rally up at Hunter's position." Drake commanded and quickly raced towards the NAV marker he set. He carefully checked all the corridors and corners looking for Covenant activity. He ran into a couple Covenant search parties, but he thought it would be better to avoid them at that time. When Drake reached the chamber Hunter was in, he immediately saw a large Covenant Elite kicking him around. With a burst of adrenaline, the Spartan sprinted at the hulking Elite. The alien whipped its head around to see half a ton of armor and muscle bearing down on it. The Elite roared at the Spartan, flexing all four jaws, and fired at him. Plasma bolts licked off Drake's shields, quickly depleting their charge. He ducked down and slid under the bolts, unleashing a long burst from his MA5B into the monster's midsection. It's shields flickered and broke, making the alien double over.

Drake jumped up and went to deal the finishing blow when the Elite struck back. It lashed out with a wrist-mounted energy blade, narrowly missing the Spartan. After missing, the large creature lunged at Drake and toppled him to the ground. It once again tried to stab him but a booming shot from a Sniper Rifle stopped the Elite dead. Its full mass fell on Drake in dead weight, covering his armor in blueish-purple blood. He kicked the dead corpse off of him and looked in the direction of the shot. There knelt Hunter with a sniper rifle in one hand and a thumbs up in the other. Despite his injuries, he still managed to get up and fire a shot. He quickly collapsed to the ground and grunted in pain. Drake leaped up and ran over to his fallen comrade. He brought up Hunter's bio signs and looked them over.

"Multiple shattered bones, punctured lungs, ruptured organs, and more bits of shrapnel than I can count..." Drake dismally read to himself.

"How bad is it?" Hunter groaned trying to speak.

"You are a patchwork mess and lucky to be alive." He replied bluntly. "But we're gonna get you out of here and fix you up."

"Don't bother, I'll just slow you down. All I ask is to send me out with a bang." Hunter coughed and faded into unconsciousness. Drake stood up and steeled himself against the emotions that were roaring inside him. As he stood over his friend's body, the other Spartans arrived and looked on in worry.

"Is he...?" Brooke finally asked.

"He's still alive...but barely. He's in rough shape, I hate to say it but I don't think he's gonna make it." Drake replied solemnly

"Not even biofoam could stabilize him enough?" Brooke asked, her heart almost audibly sinking.

"No...by these readings, he has about ten minutes before a large shard of shrapnel punctures his heart." Drake mumbled.

"I see..." Brooke sighed, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You know what must be done."

"Yeah...I'm gonna take this Corvette and drive it into that Carrier." Drake stated, clenching his fist. Before the Spartans could move, something struck the Corvette. The ship rocked, throwing everything not bolted down, against the wall.

"What the hell was that!?" Ty exclaimed his question. The question was answered by a fiery white bolt of plasma cutting through the hull. The air inside the ship crackled and heated as the bolt passed. The ship begin to fall forward, throwing the crumpled Spartans towards the front.

"The ship is falling!" Drake called out. He looked towards the back of the ship and saw a still glowing hole in the bottom of the ship. "There! We need to jump through that hole! It's our only chance!" The Spartans struggled to stand up and activate their magnetic boot soles. They forced their way to the opening and prepared to jump.

"Now!" Brooke ordered. They jumped down one by one, their armored bodies tumbling through the air.

"Spartans! Lock your armor and brace for impact!" Drake commanded his team. Then he noticed May, he knew her SPI armor would not help her survive the fall. He forced his way over to her and grabbed her by the arm. He spun around with his back to the ground and May clutched tightly to his chest. He closed his eyes and waited for the impact.


	5. Chapter 5

**Emerald Cove**

**[NAVIGATION DATA CORRUPT : SYSTEM NOT FOUND]**

**April 7th 2546 (1630 Military Standard Time)**

Drake slowly opened his eyes, his vision was blurry and he could feel a dull pounding in his head. He tried to shake off the fog to observe his surroundings. He looked down and saw May was sprawled across his chest. His HUD was offline, rendering him incapable of checking her bio signs. Drake tried to move her off him when a sharp jolt of pain shot through his body. He was definitely injured, he knew that much. However without his HUD he was unsure of the extent. He gritted his teeth and pushed through the pain to ease May off of him. Drake tried sitting up but another jolt struck him.

"Well my ribs are definitely broken," he mumbled in pain. He gave a couple quick taps to his helmet and miraculously his HUD rebooted. Once all the systems loaded up he checked May's bio signs. She was injured and unconscious but alive, thanks to Drake. A sigh of relief escaped his mouth as he checked his own bio signs.

"Cracked ribs...all of them. Strained tendons and ligaments, torn muscles, concussion, man I'm a mess." Drake shook his head slightly. He ignored the pain as best he could and forced himself to stand. He opened a COM channel to his Spartans.

"Spartans report in. I repeat, this is Drake-114, report in." He was answered with silence. His team roster displayed his teammates, their bio signs were unavailable. "Their HUDs could be out," Drake tried to reassure himself. While he waited to hear from his team, the Spartan got a clear view of his surroundings. He was in the middle of a clearing that interrupted the dense patch of trees. As he was scanning he noticed a large column of black smoke rising into the sky.

"The Corvette...how far did I fall?" Drake asked himself.

"We better get moving, I'm sure they sent out search parties." A gentle voice surprised Drake a bit.

"May? You're awake." He replied.

"Yeah, and alive, thanks to you. My SPI armor wouldn't have saved me. I still have a couple broken bones and bruises but alive." She said, climbing to her feet. "Any word from the others?"

"None." Drake answered flatly.

"What should we do?" May asked.

"If the Covenant did send out search parties, we should move." Drake thought out loud. "The Corvette's crash site looks like a few kilos out. If we make our way there we may run into the others."

"Seems like the only logical option." May admitted. Drake nodded and they both set off towards the smoke. With every step Drake took, pain shot through his body. _How am I supposed to finish the mission like this? I won't be able to fight as effectively. _Drake thought to himself.

"May, do you have a med kit?" He finally asked.

"A small one. Not much in it." She replied.

"Any morphine auto-injectors?"

"Should be at least one." May took the small medical pack off her belt and looked through it. She pulled out a tube and handed it to Drake. "Here you go," she nodded.

"Thanks," Drake took the morphine and readied it for injection. He opened the injection port on his armor and inserted the morphine. After a few minutes the drugs began to set in. While it did not numb the pain, it dulled it to bearable levels.

"There is one more in case you need it." May stated, putting the pack back on her belt. They continued on towards the crash site, carefully stalking through the trees, rifles raised and ready. Halfway to their destination they came to another clearing, where they found something rather unsettling.

"Dear lord...is that?" May asked, fear and sorrow forming a lump in her throat.

"Sampson's drop pod..." Drake muttered a response. The pod was laying in a large impact crater formed by its landing. The pod was heavily damaged and the front panel was ripped off. May and Drake looked down into the crater and saw that the pod was empty.

"It's empty...but there's blood all over the inside...what happened?" May asked without a clue

"I don't know, but I don't like the looks of it." Drake clenched his fist and swallowed hard. Then a rustling came from the tree line, both Spartans immediately snapped their rifles up.

"Don't shoot, it's us." Brooke called out, rifle in the air. Drake and May lowered their weapons as they emerged from the trees.

"Brooke, Ty, what happened to you? I couldn't pick up your IFF Transponder." Drake said suddenly relieved.

"Our power supplies were damaged from the fall. We rerouted power from less important systems." Brooke replied.

"Did you see what happened to Sampson?" Drake wondered.

"Negative. We came upon his pod earlier and it was empty then too. You think he may be alive?" She asked.

"With all that blood in there? Doubt it. But with Spartans, I suppose anything _is _possible. Either way, we have to carry out the mission first. That is number one priority." Drake stated plainly.

"You're right, so what's the plan Commander?"

"We head for the Assault Carrier. I don't know what they plan on doing but it can't be good." Drake replied.

"Didn't you notice? The Carrier is gone. Sometime after the Corvette went down, it turned tail for orbit. It's up there with the Battlecruisers just waiting." Brooke stated, pointing up towards the sky.

"Hmm...alright, what do we do?" Drake questioned.

"That's the million dollar question isn't it?" Ty replied. Before anyone else could respond, dozens of Covenant surrounded them. The short and stocky grunts stood at the front, plasma pistols aimed on the Spartans. Behind them stood the Elites, tall and proud, with Plasma Rifles tightly gripped in their four-fingered hands. The Spartans raised their Assault Rifles in response as they stood in a standoff. Finally one of the Elites stepped forward, his weapon at the ready.

"I will give you Demons one chance. Leave now and you may keep your lives. We do not wish to fight, but if you persist we will." The Alien's deep growling voice seemed almost calm.

"What is the Covenant up to here?" Drake demanded, swinging his rifle over to the Elite in front.

"We are not Covenant. We took our ships and fled from them. We caught word of an abandoned, but unharmed Human colony. We wished to make it our own. Now I will not ask again, leave now." The Elite insisted harder.

"What do we do?" Brooke asked Drake on a private channel.

"They say they mean no harm but they could very easily kill us all. They are allowing us to leave, I say we take it. It's the only smart option." Drake whispered back.

"We can't just let them set up a colony. They could be a problem later on." Brooke pointed out.

"I agree, I think if we leave them here for too long, they will be a problem. But there's only four of us and they have powerful ships right above us. I still say we cut our losses and go." Drake stated. He turned off the private channel and turned back to the Elite. "We will go, on one condition. We are missing a member of our team."

"Ah yes, one of our scouting parties found him in that pod. We carried him back to our makeshift camp and gave him aid. If we return him, will you go?" The Elite asked hopefully.

"Yes," Drake replied flatly.

"Very well, follow us and we shall reunite you with him." The Covenant separatists lowered their weapons and followed the Elite back to their camp. Drake nodded to his Spartans and followed close behind. At the makeshift camp, they saw Sampson lying on a bed made of the familiar purple metal. May was the first to rush to his side, and the rest followed after.

"Is he alright?" Drake turned to ask the Elite that had lead them there.

"Yes...he is stable for now. Of course I recommend he receive more intensive care soon. The extent of his injuries are...extreme. By the way, my name is Dar. Dar 'Ontom." The Elite introduced himself.

"Of course," Drake nodded. "I will call for a lift and we shall leave immediately." Dar just nodded and left the Spartans with their friend. Two Grunts stood by, watching the large Humans. Fear and worry were obvious in the short Aliens' fidgeting.

"UNSC _Any Given Sunday_, this is Commander Drake-114, how copy?"

"Solid copy, sir. What's the situation?" COMs Officer Jacobs replied.

"We need a Pelican down here ASAP. We have an injured Spartan in need of medical care." Drake ordered.

"Sir, what about the Covenant ships?" Jacobs asked curiously.

"The ships belong to Covenant Separatists, a splinter group. Their leader has granted us the opportunity to leave in one piece. I suggest we take it." Drake explained.

"Aye, aye sir. One Pelican inbound. ETA two minutes." Jacobs stated flatly.

"Make it a minute thirty," Drake retorted and shut off the COM channel. When the Pelican finally arrived they loaded the still unconscious Spartan on a stretcher. Once he was secured on the dropship, they took off for _Any Given Sunday_. As soon as the Pelican docked, they rushed Sampson to the medical wing to look him over, while Drake headed for the bridge.

"Commander on deck!" One of the bridge officers called the bridge to attention.

"Carry on," Drake waved. He sat down in the command chair and called to the COMs officer. "Jacobs, establish a secure link to Admiral Parangosky."

"On it sir," she replied with speed. Drake waited patiently as he waited for the COM feed to open in front of him. After a few minutes, Admiral Parangosky appeared before him.

"Commander, what can I do for you?" She asked.

"Ma'am, we have a situation here at Emerald Cove. It turns out the Covenant ships here belong to a splinter group wishing to get away from the Covenant. They plan to set up a colony."

"I see," Parangosky seemed to be toying with an idea. "They could become a problem in the future..." She finally said.

"Yes ma'am, I agree. However they let us go, they even patched up Sampson for us." Drake explained. "Besides they definitely outnumber us and outgun us."

"Of course, you wouldn't stand much of a chance against so many ships. But I don't feel right just leaving them there." The Admiral admitted.

"Commander!" Lieutenant Santiago called out. "Slipspace ruptures detected! Covenant ships, and they are definitely Covenant."

"How many?" Drake inquired.

"One Assault Carrier, four Battlecruisers, and six Corvettes." Santiago read out.

"A small fleet..." Drake mumbled. "Admiral, you won't believe this. A small Covenant fleet just arrived in system. I'm betting they're not too happy about some rogue aliens taking their ships."

"Perfect, let them take each other out. Problem solved Commander. Call back if you need anything else." The Admiral nodded and closed the channel.

"What should we do sir?" Santiago asked.

"Stay quiet, stay hidden, and hope they take each other out." Drake replied flatly. He sat and watched as the Covenant fleet converged on the Separatists ships. They fired on the orbiting Assault Carrier first, over a dozen lances of plasma streaked through space at the large ship. Within minutes its shields broke and the ship exploded in a plume of fire. The Separatist Battlecruisers and Corvette turned to retaliate but they could not turn fast enough to make a difference. The Corvette was obliterated in an instant flash, and the Battlecruisers fell soon after.

"They never stood a chance..." Drake whispered to himself. Him and his crew observed as the Covenant ships moved to low orbit above the Separatists camp. Drake knew what would come next. All he could do was watch as the ships slowly turned the once beautiful planet into a fiery glassland.

"Get us out of here..." Drake ordered. "Anywhere but here." He got out of his chair and left the bridge. He joined the rest of his team in the medical bay as they awaited a synopsis of Sampson's condition. Finally the doctor approached them, datapad in hand.

"Commander," she nodded. "I have good news and bad news."

"What's the good news?" Ty asked impatiently.

"The good news is Sampson will survive. He will be out of commission for a while and need lots of rest but he will live." She stated.

"What's the bad news?" Drake asked boldly.

"The bad news, his armor is basically only good for scrap now. I had to put in an order for two new SPI Mark III suits. Which will take a decent chunk out of ONI's budget." The doctor gave a sly grin. The tension visibly left the Spartans, as everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you doctor." Drake gave his gratitude.

"Of course, and I also suggest you four get looked at." She raised an eyebrow to them.

"Right," Drake replied. He had completely forgotten about his injuries. "We'll head out to get our armor removed first."

"No need, I already called the technicians up. They'll be here soon. Just sit tight and I'll get you patched up." The doctor smiled.

"Thanks again doc," Drake said as he stood with his Spartans. He was thankful his Spartans were here in one place, but he wished Hunter had survived. _Im tired of losing family..._ he thought to himself.


End file.
